Nashville Twist: Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick to Take Over as Showrunners in Likely Season 5

Rayna James’ so-called country life is heading in a surprising new direction.

TV vets Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick (My So-Called Life, thirtysomething) have inked a deal to take over as Nashville‘s new showrunners in the very likely event ABC renews the bubble drama for Season 5, TVLine has learned exclusively. The duo would replace current showunner Dee Johnson, who is expected to depart at the conclusion of Nashville‘s current fourth season.

Herskovitz and Zwick have a long history with ABC, having created critical darlings My So-Called Life, thirtysomething and Once and Again. After the swift cancellation of their NBC coming-of-age drama Quarterlife in 2008, the duo took a break from TV to focus on their feature careers. Last fall, they inked a first-look deal with Lionsgate, the studio behind Nashville.

This would mark the first time Herskovitz and Zwick have assumed control of a series that they did not create.